Costa believes he could be slapped with a four or five match ban if he says what he talks about referees in England

When he was asked about comments the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho have made about Premier League refs, Costa said: “I’m not going to talk about English referees because I could get a suspension for four or five games if I did that.”

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But the Premier League’s top scorer added that at times he felt victimised by match officials in England’s top flight.

He commented: “I’ll be honest, I’m a target here. Be it for referees or for fans.

“If I do something it’s very different to the other players.

“It’s something that I have to deal with and I pray to God that these things don’t distract me and don’t interrupt my sequence of games, which happens sometimes and gets me suspended.”